RV Industry Makes Impact in Washington, DC

RV industry members swarmed Washington, D.C., on June 8 during the largest and most impactful RVIA Capitol Hill Advocacy Day in the event’s 15-year history.

RVIA Today Express reported that more than 70 industry representatives from the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA) and National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds (ARVC) participated in 148 meetings. The bulk of these were with U.S. Senate and House of Representative offices.

In approximately one-third of these visits, a Member of Congress participated in the meeting. In addition, there were also very productive sessions at the White House with representatives from the White House Business Council, the National Economic Council and the U.S. Trade Representative as well as meetings with high ranking officials at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The centerpiece of these discussions were the findings of the new RVs Move America Economic Impact Study showing that the RV market contributed $49.7 billion to the U.S. economy in 2015 and provided 289,852 full-time jobs to American workers. Meeting participants also asked for support of the Outdoor Recreation’s Economic Contributions (REC) Act, which directs the Commerce Department to measure and report on the full economic impact attributable to the outdoor recreation economy. Industry members also encouraged Senators and Representatives to join the Senate and House RV Caucuses.

The co-founders of those organizations were honored with RVIA’s Champions Awards at the Senate and House RV Caucus Reception held in the early evening in the Hart Senate Office Building.

The reception was well-attended with industry members joined by special guests from the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Capitol Hill staff, government agencies and allied trade associations. It featured information stations where attendees could learn more about the RV industry and the economic impact of the RV market.

Advocacy Day ended on a high note with the “RVs Move America Celebration” Dinner where members toasted a successful day of advocacy and shared stories about their adventures on Capitol Hill.

During the dinner, Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) was presented with RVIA’s National Legislative Award for her vital role in including an RV-friendly amendment in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) ACT that benefited the commercial transport of RVs by allowing RV transporters to continue with traditional paper logs or to utilize an electronic logging device (ELD) to document driving hours of service. She was also presented with an RVIA Champions Award for her leadership as a co-chair of the House RV Caucus.